Xbox announced XBOX LABS, a small team of video game creators, engineers, and scientists that will seek to turn emerging technologies into experiences for players and developers. The initiative aims to make games more accessible and open up more opportunities for people who enjoy them to take part in creating them.
In a message to employees published by Xbox, Asha Sharma explained that the group will work openly, learn from how the community uses its work, and share the tools it builds with developers across the industry. Its measure of success will be that more people are playing and creating.
The proposal comes amid experiments that make it possible to run video games on devices they were not designed for. The announcement mentions versions of Windows adapted for Apple Silicon and games brought to the browser using WebAssembly and WebGPU. Xbox sees these advances as an opportunity to breathe new life into older titles and reduce barriers between devices.
That is not the same as announcing a catalog of enhanced classics to play on the web: browser experiences are cited as examples that motivate Labs’ exploration, not as products confirmed by the team. The announcement sets out a line of work rather than presenting a service ready to use.
Xbox also reaffirmed its commitment to video game development, its hardware, and protecting its intellectual property and communities. The company explained that Labs is intended to test new technologies without abandoning projects already underway.
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